Boy, how times have changed! We were discussing the Sinclair C5 in the office this week and many here had never even heard of it, let alone seen one!

Launched during a by-gone age (1985!), it became an object of media and popular ridicule during 1980s Britain and was a commercial disaster, selling only around 17,000 units, although according to Sinclair, it was “the best selling electric vehicle” until November 2011 when the Nissan Leaf had sold over 20,000 units.

Ah, 1985. What was management like in those days? Well, many managers could get away with what today would be decidedly un-PC behaviour and get rid of people almost on a whim.

How have management techniques changed over the years? That was the subject of our discussions after we had had a few giggles at the C5′s expense.

And we reckon we have come up with today’s management ideas in a nutshell.

Your job as manager today is to create a climate that encourages and values the contribution of each person to the team effort. Your people’s energies should be directed towards problem solving, task effectiveness and achievement of your goals. Your energies should be directed at providing the best possible conditions that allow your people to contribute effectively.

Quite a change, I’m sure you’ll agree. Better, as well? We think so.

How do you encourage people? How do you make sure their energies help you achieve your goals? How do you provide the conditions for people to grow and thrive?

Today’s manager simply has to be a good leader as well. Management skills refer to the hard skills that are necessary to get the job done. Leadership involves the softer skills that builds on the ideas people have, deals with the resistors they come up with, and gains the buy-in that is necessary to allow people to motivate themselves to achieve the goals you need to hit.

A far cry from those halcyon days when Clive Sinclair ruled the electronic vehicle world. Tell the truth, not sure if I could actually have fitted in one!

Thanks again

Nick

Nick Hill

Training Director

MTD Management Training Course

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In ‘The Heart of Change’, John Kotter and Dan Cohen report on a study they conducted with Deloitte Consulting. Having interviewed over 400 people from more than 130 companies, they hoped to understand why change happens in large organisations.

Kotter analysed the data and said that in most change situations, managers initially focus on strategy, structure, culture or systems, which leads them to miss more important issues. Kotter states:

“The core of the matter is always about changing the behaviour of people, and behaviour change happens in highly successful situations mostly by talking to people’s feelings.

This is true even in companies that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement. In highly effective change situations, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought”.

In other words, when change works, it’s because leaders speak to people’s hearts as well as their minds.

Kotter says that most companies think change happens in this order: ANALYSE-THINK-CHANGE.

But big change situations don’t look like that. In most cases, the parameters aren’t well understood and the future is fuzzy. The analytical arguments for change do not work well. (For example, if someone is reluctant to marry their long-term partner, discussing the tax benefits and rent savings are probably not going to swing it for them!).

In almost all big change situations, the sequence of change is thus:            SEE-FEEL-CHANGE.

You’re presented with information that makes you feel something. Either pain associated with the current position, or future reward promised if change takes place. Whatever it is, it hits you at the emotional level.

So, if you’re faced with changes in your own business, naturally talk through the analysis and think through the repercussions. But if you want your people to accept, get involved with, and drive the change forward, you need to identify the emotional impact on them.

Have some people who will be affected by the change been working with you for a long time? If so, what will the psychological effects be for them? How will you monitor the changes they have to go through? What emotional impact will it have on them? You need to consider this as they go through the change.

Conversely, what about new people? Do they still need some support as they go through the changes? What emotional impact might it have on them? Have you made sure they know why the changes are necessary?

Trying to fight inertia and indifference to change with analytical arguments is like throwing a fire extinguisher to someone who’s drowning. The solution doesn’t match the problem.

Analyse how people feel about the changes they are going through. Deal with the emotional aspect. All the analytical, rational, process-driven arguments in the world won’t help if people feel their emotions aren’t tied to the results.

Do this effectively, and they will buy in to your ideas and help you deliver the necessary changes.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Here are four techniques can lessen the emotional and cultural challenges of achieving strategic transformations in organisations.

So many market dynamics affect the way businesses operate today.  To survive and thrive, companies not only must identify the right new strategy, but also must employ it quickly so it reaches all levels of the organisation.

Knowledge alone, though, does not motivate action. Employees can always build resistance to change. There are many reasons why they would resist, so let’s take a look at four techniques that can change people’s reaction to what is happening:

Ensure employees know the external pressures that are driving change. Staff can be energised to participate in a change initiative if they understand how their work contributes to the company’s success. You can use small group meetings to reach all employees and to explain changes in what’s happening in the marketplace. Make sure everyone is clear on why the change HAS to happen.

Create motivation for the change in people who have the power to drive it forward. People who “own” and drive the change can serve as role models. Some will have influence because of their positions or titles; among them will be early adopters and resisters of change, and both will affect the way people around them think. Some are already demonstrating the behavior, values, and capabilities crucial to the future operating model, and these are the ones you need to encourage and support.

Understand and appreciate how people feel during change. Help people deal with their emotional reactions to change and decide whether they can thrive in the new environment. Their emotions will either drive or put a brake on the forward momentum. Be aware of what they are going through and how it will affect each person. It’s surprising sometimes how their feelings can influence their logical thinking patterns.

Support the change by establishing the new culture. When change is in progress or has been established, it’s vital to offer support to people by employing the right tools and processes that drive change so that the foundations for the new ways of working can be built on. The changes have to be embedded into the everyday working environment so that people identify there is no going back. The climate needs to be supported so there is a feeling of permanence concerning the new ways.

These four techniques can act as antidotes to resisting change, especially if they are driven by the management team and supported all the way by the teams affected.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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In today’s business world, the ability to lead change has become one of the most fundamental skills needed by managers in successful organisations. John Kotter found through his studies of over 100 companies that there was a clear distinction between leading change and managing it.

Kotter states that management consists of a whole set of processes that keeps people and technology running smoothly. Leadership, however, defines the future, aligns people to that future vision and inspires them to achieve it. He thought there were common mistakes made by managers during a change process. They were:

• Under-estimating the need for a clear vision
• Allowing too much complacency during change
• Failing to create a substantial coalition
• Failing to communicate the change process and vision clearly enough
• Permitting roadblocks to halt progress
• Failing to create short-term wins
• Declaring victory too soon
• Not anchoring change into the corporate culture

These eight mistakes allowed Kotter to formulate his ‘phases of change’ and they are now accepted as vital in any change process a business is going through.
Here are his eight steps:

• Create a sense of urgency: This can be due to a crisis or a sense of crisis. People need to believe that the status quo is not an option

• Put together a guiding team: This strong coalition recognise the need for change, have the power to influence the change, possess the credibility to drive change, have the commitment to it, harness the necessary skills for it to work, identify the connections they need to drive change and enjoy the reputation for making things happen

• Create vision and strategy: This is the bridge that joins the current situation to the future state. The sense of direction and aligned efforts start at this point. The visions should be clear, motivating and situation-specific

• Communicate the changed vision: This is crucial if everyone is to be committed to the change. Any inconsistencies at this stage can have a demotivating and debilitating effect on the change mechanism

• Empower People: The change management team should empower people to carry out the necessary changes and remove any roadblocks that may exist in their way

• Generate short-term wins: Setting milestones along the journey should be a prerequisite to the process. All short-term victories should be communicated and aligned with the overall goal

• Consolidate and enable more change: As the journey continues, the momentum is built towards successful implementation of the changes. New activities should become the norm relating to the vision and should provide the driving force behind the efforts

• Anchor new approaches in culture: The changes should become permanent with people accepting the new way as the norm. Without those anchors, the old ways will seep back in. Kotter states that the key to lasting change lies in changing the culture itself, through consistent action over a sufficient time-scale.

Kotter doesn’t misunderstand the complexity of organisational structure, but recognises that these steps build cohesion between departments and a will to succeed, especially when people are fearful of the implications change may bring upon them and the company.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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You may think that structural re-alignment is a really long, time-consuming thing to have to get involved in.

Take a look at this short video to see that it doesn’t really take that much to change the structure of your team…

Press the play button in the bottom left of the video, and make sure your speakers are on.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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